User blog:TheKnightOfIron/Chapter Four: Arc Badge

Thanks for the support on the other chapters, which you can view here.I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, the Pokemon used, the tries for gym battles, and similar stuff like that are literally what actually happened in my experience (I really did beat the first gym that way). Sorry this is a little longer.

Chapter Four: Arc Badge
So, I walk past Route 3 and run into Silvent City. The PokeCenter lady heals my Froakie, Zigzagoon, and my Nidoran. This guy tells me that there is something strange going on with the PC there. I examine the PC (because there aren’t any in Mitis Town) and find out that it digitally stores your Pokemon. I didn’t trust it then, though, because the guy said it was breaking or something. Anyways, by now it was almost the middle of the night, and I was really tired. I grabbed my sleeping bag and unrolled it on Route 3. It was a little hard because of the faint music coming from somewhere (maybe a neighbor was having a party?), but I finally fell asleep.

Whilst I was asleep, I had a dream. I was in a colosseum-like place that I immediately recognized as the world-famous Battle Colosseum. It was full of people, like the pictures I had seen, but many of them were wearing red outfits. In the dream, I somehow knew that their leader, a man with pale white skin (also wearing red) had challenged me to a battle. I saw myself accept the battle. The dream somehow fast-forwarded to after the battle. I knew that I had beaten him, and everybody in the colosseum was looking at me in awe. I heard a voice echoing across the world saying, “He must not fail us.” It was truly an epic moment.

And then, because my dreams can never be anything except weird, the whole place was instantly overflowing with Rockruffs, Poochyenas, and Houndours, all wearing tall purple top hats. Then these Pokemon stuffed me into a rocket and launched me to Jupiter, where I met a herd of alien space vipers… yeah, actually, this is too weird. I’m just going to move on and say that after that I woke up and headed straight for the gym.

I walk into the gym and hear music blasting through high-quality speakers. There are people on the floor, and colored lights are flashing everywhere. After I adjust my eyes and my ears to the inside of the gym, I start to realize that the song they were playing was “Believer” by Imagine Dragons. I start to dance (but only in my head), because this is my favorite song.

There is a railway over the dance floor, and it is what I am standing on. I look down at all the people who are eternally dancing. I start to walk across the railway when this man in a top hat I somehow missed stops me.

“Slow down there, Eager McBidoof!” top hat guy says.

“Um, okay,” I respond.

“This must be your first gym battle. I don’t usually give away this kind of information, but this gym’s specialty is Electric,” he says helpfully.

This is a problem, as my most well-trained Pokemon was a Water-type. I considered rethinking my strategy, but I just wanted the badge really bad. I could always try a second time.

“Okay, thanks,” I say.

“Also, you will have to battle some of the gym’s official trainers and complete some puzzles. Just dance on the dance pad, and if you are good enough, we will let you through,” he added. Then he walked away.

I fought the first trainer, a man with crazy red hair. He just had an Electric-type. I had Zigzagoon battle because I thought that even though my Froakie was better trained, he was weak to Electric-types. I must admit that I had Zigzagoon use his moves to the beat of the song.

Then came the first dance pad. “Believer” was in its chorus part so I easily thought I could dance to that. Unfortunately, it was the last chorus, and by the time I finished beating the trainer, it ended.

I stepped on the dance pad and stepped forward, forward, forward, right, right, back, back, left, forward. The next trainer granted me admittance and we battled. I beat him with Nidoran and Zigzagoon, saving my Froakie for later.

I made a quick stop at the PokeCenter after this, and much to my dismay, I had to redo the dance puzzles. After completing the second one, I walked right up to the gym leader, who was sitting on a raised platform, looking over the entire gym. He had dirty blonde hair and a shiny smile.

“Hey, how are you? I’m Chad, the gym leader here.”

“Hello Chad, I am me, nice to meet you,” I said.

“Nice to meet you, too. I see you have no gym badges?”

“Yeah, I started my Pokemon journey, like, yesterday.”

Chad laughed. “And you already think you can challenge me, a gym leader? Well, I can’t completely underestimate you. You did take out my trainers. How did you get so powerful so fast?”

“Well, for some reason, every adult and/or kid in the world’s sole purpose seems to be to take time out of their lives to battle me on every route, or forest, or really anywhere I go. It makes me strong fast. If I had literally just walked here from Mitis Town, I don’t think I could beat you.”

“Well, let’s see how powerful you’ve become. I won’t take it easy on you!” Chad warned, and the battle started, music courtesy of Chad.

I last-minute decided to bring out Froakie first. Over my brief training sessions, I noticed a strategy that I followed myself. Use my slightly weaker Pokemon first to weaken the opponent, and then bring out the good ones to take them out. Before this meant Nidoran and Zigzagoon first, Froakie last, but because of type effectiveness, Froakie would be going first.

He brought out his Shinx first. Froakie was faster. “Froakie, use Bubble!” Froakie launched a stream of bubbles at Shinx, and then they all popped. It wasn’t very effective, but it still seemed to do a significant amount of damage.

“Shinx, use Charge!” Chad commanded, and then I witnessed as his Shinx began charging power. “Froakie, use Bubble again!” I called. Froakie used it again, but Shinx stood steadfast. He seemed a lot weaker, though.

“Hang in there, Shinx, and use Charge Beam!”

It missed.

“Froakie, use Quick Attack!” I called, and Shinx fainted.

“Go, Pikachu!” Chad called, “and use Quick Attack!”

Froakie was hit, but still seemed to be strong. As I was about to tell Froakie to use something, Froakie used Water Pulse. Pikachu survived and used some sort of Electric-type move that brought Froakie to low health.

“Alright, come back, Froakie. Go, Zigzagoon!” I yelled. “Use, um, Headbutt!”

Zigzagoon used Headbutt on Pikachu. Chad told his Pikachu to use Charge, and he started to charge power. Zigzagoon used Headbutt one more time and Pikachu fainted.

Right after the battle, Froakie became a Frogadier and my Zigzagoon became a Linoone.

“Wow, how did you beat me?” Chad asked, “Well, you’ve proven yourself worthy of the Arc Badge! Also, have this TM.”

When I left the gym, I met with Jake who gave me this big black box about the size of an oversized radio. It was called the RTD, and it could teleport me to the Battle Colosseum or the Trade Resort. I asked him how this technology was possible, and he explained some very complicated stuff to me. Apparently, the Battle Colosseum and the Trade Resort were virtual worlds accessible via cartridges. The RTD has both cartridges inside of it, and really it is the same technology as the PC. It digitally converts your mind state into data so that you can be stored inside whichever of the cartridges you would like to be.

I said thanks and left him. As I continued on Route 4, this Lumberjack guy gave me Cut because he saw I couldn’t cut down any of the trees.

“Now, be careful teaching it to your Pokemon. It is very hard to unlearn.” He warned me. “Nice necklace, by the way, where’d you get it?”

I looked down at the Bronze Brick and then back at him, thinking of some believable lie. “Um… it’s a special LEGO piece. Yeah. It’s so special I carry it around my neck. That’s all.” Before he could say anything I taught Cut to Linoone and walked into the trees.

I liked nature, but the trees were so thick I couldn’t get through them. I promised myself I would plant two more trees later to make up for it, and I cut a tree so I could move on.